Absolutely a must hear show for 1969. The Dead were on fire in the early months of '69 as evidenced by the Live Dead album. Unfortunately the sound ain't all that coming from a cassette master but the playing makes up for it. The Alligator>Drums>Jam>Primal Alligator Jam>Caution>Feedback is quite simply stunning and Death Don't is pure soul music done Jerry style. His guitar playing is pure blues, pure emotion. I was going to take a star off for sound quality, but nah, I can't.

5+

11 stars for this. the Feedback alone is worth 5 !!

(~);-}

I'm reeling here, having just heard for the first time this set. The early show is working-horse good, impossible to really criticize what they play, but compared to this electric monster it's almost tame. This thing is sheer madness!

They miss the initial windup on the Other One, which, when "blown", can sometimes leave a gaping sort of empty space where you expect Phil to drop that bomb - however, just listen to how they go with where they then are - Jerry takes the Cryptical reprise out for a long, long, LONG walk - just when you think they're going to dissolve the thing into a feedback space Jerry brings in that high-note, weeping-angel coda we all came to love with '69.

And *caution* on that Caution! Phil is absolutely out of control when they really drive the back end of that jam - ay caramba, kids!

Incredible Alligator suite. Beyond belief.

i've spent so much time with this show over the past few months, it's like my kid. seriously, this is one of the finest examples of 1969 Grateful Dead i can think of.

Things quickly get to a rousing start with what surely must be one the most utterly unstoppable versions of That's It For the Other One ever played. It's like roaring avalanche or a collapsing dam exploding with tsunami waters - i like Chris U's description the best haha. The sheer balls of this version in the 1st half of TOO will convert anyone who feels this a band for wimps...

Things only get better with a transcendent version of Alligator that, dare i say, after many repeated listens, makes a case for the better of 2/28/69. i leave you to judge for yourself. like i said in the previous review, the transition into China Cat from seemingly out of NOWHERE is priceless! following this is a beautiful jamming excursion lead by some of Garica's most creative and emotionally engaging playing i've yet to hear. the jam ends with a lilting duet between him and the drummers. things come to a roaring conclusion with a fine, fine version of Caution.

well enough hype, listen to this show, or suffer the consequences!

so this date holds a special place in my heart. That and the show is ripping, but isn't that true of almost every show from 68-69 (with the notable exceptions of Woodstock, some of the Hartbeats shows, and the Bobby Ace show)? The Other One>Cryptical is solid, though not quite up there with 10/13/68, 2/28/69, or 5/2/70, which are my current top three. But definitely check out the jam following the drums. There's a vocal jam at the beginning that had to be very rare for the Dead.

The sound is more than listenable.

I believe the Dead were the headliners for this show, which wasn't always the case during their East Coast runs that year. When they were the opening act, the jams tended to be very short, compressed into the time available. A notorious example of this would be 2-11-69 when they opened for Janis Joplin at the Fillmore East. Here, the jams seem more fully realized, though not as much as they would be during the famous Fillmore West run.

good show, decent sound. Didn't think bob was particularly strong in his playing this night.

Uhh oh! This show is unavailable. I hope that doesn't mean what I'm afraid it means. Well maybe it's just "resting". Hello Polly, wake up Polly!! Are you "pining for the fiords" or are you a Dead parrot? Sorry, my Monty Python brain kicked in.
Although the early show is good, the late show is usually better, as is the case here. Garcia soars up into the stratosphere on the Other One, while Phil plays a counter theme to everything Jerry does. What a HOT version!! The following Cryptical is long and starts off with a mellow shuffle jam, building to a
thundering conclusion. Jerry's style and tone are just pure acid-drenched 69 to the max. If you're not on the bus by now, check your pulse!
This version of Death Don't reaches into depths of the passion and soul of the blues in ways that even Cream I dare say, could not. At over 9 minutes, they take their time. Jerry begins almost at a whisper, then proceeds to make the guitar crawl, walk and talk, sing like Aretha Franklin and just flat out WAIL!
Then Pig delivers another stellar Alligator. Listen for the China Cat theme briefly during the Jam. By track #10, they extend the Jam to include a nice Phil solo and some serious Jerry pyrotechnics. And yet there's more! The band explodes (yes, explodes!) into the Caution Jam - fast and furious as Pig and the boys lay the mojo on your brain. Jeeesuz how can they play that fast?? And the Feedback unleashes all the little sound gremlins that take you all the way to the 4th dimension. Like good sex, you'll want a cigarette after this show!! Highly recommended and a real 1969 classic.
enjoy,
Dr. Flashback :-)

Yeah this is pretty fxcking good folks.

There is more LSD dripping out of Garcia's guitar in the first 5 minutes of this Other One than there was dropped or manufactured by anyone who saw or heard the band during the entire period 1975-whenever.

There, I said it.

This is an exceptional performance from one of my favorite years.Cryptical> Other One is worth the download time alone.This is a off the meter high energy performance with Jerry full on through the entire set.Relentless!
However,the audio is so compressed eq'ing is almost impossible and because the master was a cass. as opposed to a reel the hiss is extra loud.But all the instruments and vocals are better than audible.The mix is good considering the above .
5 for the performance 3.5 for sound.A solid 4 overall.

This is an amazing, high energy performance. The quality is, in my opinion, great. The only problem are fade-ins and fade-outs, but definitely a necessity. The Eleven is really full of tension. Death Don't is wonderful!